46. Hammerstein's Opera House, Part One

November 17, 1908 : The magnificent new theater in North Philadelphia was ready for its first opera! It was "as if some master magician's wand had called it into being," wrote one admiring journalist.

Everyone in the city, especially its most wealthy and socially prominent citizens, could hardly wait to get inside to see the show. But first they had to make their way through the crowd of ten thousand people out on the streets gathered just to see them all dressed up in their finest!

We meet Manhattan opera impresario Oscar Hammerstein, and learn how the "Opera War" with his rival, the Metropolitan Opera Company, spread all the way to Philadelphia. What remains behind of that war today is not only an amazing theater, but a great story!

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© Podcast text copyright, Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.

℗ All voice recordings copyright Peter Schmitz.

℗ All original music and compositions within the episodes copyright Christopher Mark Colucci. Used by permission.

© Podcast text copyright Peter Schmitz. All rights reserved.